Past and Future
by Julie Ann Pope
Summary: Can Constance lay her demons to rest and start over with a friend who has come to mean so much more? WARNING: Paring - HBCackle - Femslash
1. Old Ghosts

The Worst Witch – Past and Future  
  
_Paring_: Constance Hardbroom/Amelia Cackle   
_Warning_: Femslash, mild kissing/physical affection  
by Julie Ann Pope  
  
_Summary_: Can Constance lay her demons to rest and start over with a friend who has come to mean so much more?   
  
**Old Ghosts**  
  
Amelia stood behind Constance as she watched Broomhead walk out of school gates. Constance seemed transfixed, even after the horrid woman had disappeared from sight, and Amelia was sure there was a glint of tears in her eyes. Amelia wrapped her arms around Constance's waist from behind and gently pulled her close. Constance, grateful for the comfort leant back and rested herself on Amelia's shoulder, resting her arms on top of Amelia's.   
  
"It's alright Constance, she's gone now, you're safe with us." Amelia whispered closely in her ear. Constance could only nod her head. "I think you'd better tell me the whole story." Constance froze, she could never tell anyone the cruelty she suffered at the hands of that woman, especially not to Amelia, how little would she think of her afterwards? She shook her head and broke the embrace. She reverted back to her usual self, cold and hard HB, but she could not meet Amelia's eyes. Amelia cupped Constance's left cheek with her right hand. "I will not let someone I care about suffer in silence. Constance, I want to help you." Constance still couldn't find the courage to meet her eyes, but her words had affected her, she was silently crying. Amelia's heart broke at the sight of her deputy head so broken and defeated. She drew herself closer to Constance and leant in to kiss her. She kissed her gently, but with enough passion to make it clear it wasn't platonic. Constance wasn't quite sure what to do or to think, it had been such an emotional day already. The kiss wasn't entirely unwelcome, quite the opposite in fact, but she felt it wasn't quite appropriate either. Maybe it was because they were on the school grounds where any of the pupils could have seen them. She kissed Amelia back briefly.   
  
"I care about you too much to burden you with my past. I shall be fine, I always am."   
  
"I wish I could believe that Constance." Whenever Constance said that she was fine, Amelia was never convinced, it just made her push all the more.   
  
"Let's just spend what's left of the evening together, care to indulge in a nightcap?" Amelia thought she'd play Constance's game tonight, but tomorrow they were going to have a serious talk.   
  
"Why not?" Amelia followed Constance back into the school and through the long dark corridors to the dormitories, trying desperately to refrain from holding her hand out to her. They reached Amelia's room.  
  
"I'll just pick up my nightclothes and join you in a minute?" Constance nodded and walked off to her own room.


	2. Jumbled Feelings: Amelia's View

**Jumbled Feelings (Amelia's View)**  
  
Amelia sighed as she entered her room and leant against the closed door. Whatever possessed her to do such a thing? She was surprised to still be alive after the way she threw herself at Constance. She had always been intrigued by the younger woman, there were scars on her soul, that until tonight had been there, but well buried. Amelia had been curious to find out where they had come from, but hadn't thought they'd have anything to do with Heckity Broomhead. Perhaps she shouldn't find out, but if Constance had been hurt, and was still hurting she needed to do something about it. She recalled the moment she knew that she had fallen in love with her deputy head, eight years ago on a camping trip with a group of first years. It was hard to imagine Constance even more rigid than she was now, but she was. Needless the say, Great British weather being like it is it rained all week. The girls were starting to get colds and feeling miserable. Amelia booked them into a hotel for the rest of the trip as a treat. Constance had been grouchy over the expense ad frivolity of it, but as Amelia was the headmistress and ruler of the purse strings, she was having none of it. They booked into a twin bedded room to share. It was situated at the top of the corridor the girls rooms were in. Constance came out of the shower one morning, her hair was wet and her loose, unruly curls bounced as she moved. She wore a towel around her body (black of course) and little else. Amelia stared in shock as well as interest. Those legs seemed to go on forever, and the curly mess she called hair looked just ravishing in the low light of morning. She had even spent an evening or two lounged on her bed, reading a thick book with a glass of wine in her hand and a small, thin smile on her lips. This was a whole different side of Constance Hardbroom, and Amelia felt privileged to have been a part of it. Of course it hadn't taken long for Constance to feel uncomfortable under Amelia's gaze. She was curled up on her bed one evening reading "Potions for adults: a witches guide." Amelia was seated on the edge of her own bed, a ball of black-grey wool in her lap and a half knitted...something, in her hands. Except she had stopped knitting and was staring mushy eyed at Constance. Constance peered ever so delicately around the side of her book to look right at her watcher. Amelia wasn't even aware she was being stared at right back, her eyes had been somewhere along the length of Constance's body.   
  
"What on earth are you staring me like that for?" Amelia jumped, damn and blast! She'd been caught out. Amelia flushed " Constance just tutted and turned over on her side. Amelia mentally kicked herself, now Constance was upset with her. Perhaps she could find some way of making it up to her. She suddenly jumped up from her bed. Constance barely acknowledged the sudden movement from her roommate. The door reverberated on it's hinges as Amelia fled the room, causing Constance to drop the book she had been attempting to read. After an hour or two, Amelia had come back and presented Constance with a box of dark chocolates in the various witch shapes. It wasn't quite what would have cheered Constance up, but it had made her smile (as much as she could) nonetheless. Amelia found herself back in the present still leaning up against her bedroom door. Their relationship had changed slowly over the last eight years, from mere colleagues to, well not quite friends, but as close as anyone could get to Constance Hardbroom and that was quite a feat. But even more gradually an undercurrent of something else had crept up on them. Amelia was no fool and knew that if she met with Constance tonight things would irrevocably change between them. She hastily changed into her nightgown and made her way to Constance's room.


	3. Jumbled Feelings: Constance's View

**Jumbled Feelings (Constance's View)  
**  
Constance, meanwhile had been sitting at her dressing table, brushing her hair for the last ten minutes. She'd also been daydreaming, thinking of the day's events. She shuddered at the thought of Heckity Broomhead and the vile way she had been treated as a child. Broomhead still seemed to think that Constance was easy pickings, and for some reason she was right. Constance could not find the courage to fight back when that woman was around. However tonight was about moving on, her past had past and it seemed that Amelia Cackle was to be her future. How odd it seemed that she should find solace in someone so different. They hadn't got on at first, Amelia was far too nice to the girls, and Constance supposed that she was a little harder on them than she ought to have been in those early days. They'd had to get on, being made deputy head meant that she at least had an input into the way the academy was run. They often spent breakfast together and lunch and dinner too, in fact they spent a lot of time together inside and outside the working day. Then again in a boarding school, particularly a Witches school, there was never really a normal working day. She and Amelia had obviously grown close to each other and had already become each other's confidents on most subjects. Amelia had hinted at talking about various aspects of their personal lives, but Constance remained aloof on that whole subject. It had been far easier to focus on her duties in the school than to think of her increasing loneliness. There was a knock at the door which woke her from her reverie. Constance hadn't changed into her nightwear yet, and her hair was still in an appalling state, but she couldn't leave Amelia standing out there all night. 


End file.
